Jambalaya (On the Bayou)

Settle down far from town get him a pirogue

And he'll catch all the fish in the Bayou

Swap his mom to buy Yvonne what she need-oh

Son of a gun, we'll have big fun on the Bayou

Five New Exhibitions Open Sept. 9 at the American University Museum

Five new exhibitions and the continuation of Lost Europe: On the Edge of Memories are open for viewing at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center beginning Saturday, Sept. 9. The contemplative and thought-provoking fall line-up includes work by D.C.-area artist Steven Cushner, abstract wood sculptures by Rachel Rotenberg, the black and white photography of pre-war Ukraine in Lost Europe, and more. The opening reception takes place from 6 to 9 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9 and is free and open to all. Admission to the museum is free and open to the public. 

Through Oct. 15: 

Song of Songs: Fruitful Relationships 

Using the traditional techniques of the Dutch masters, painter Lillian Klein Abensohn's still-life works tackle societal, familial and interpersonal dynamics – from suggestive, generative allusions of sumptuous produce to pears that inhabit female archetypes. The most essential relationships, be they sexual, personal, familial or racial are alluded to in her myriad of forms —coyly, directly, ironically. 

Through Dec. 10: 

CUSHNER 

CUSHNER consists of 34 artworks by artist Steven Cushner, who served as an adjunct faculty member at AU from 1995 through 2000. Cushner has taught at George Mason University for more than 35 years. This is not just a retrospective of the artist’s 40-plus year career; it’s a selection of what is happening in his studio today. The pieces range from small-scale works on paper and wood-cut prints to large-scale paintings, all of which span the gallery’s third floor. The exhibition presents a mature artist at a powerful moment in his career. AU Museum partnered with HEMPHILL Artworks to develop this exhibition of Cushner’s more recent works in one of the largest shows of his work to date.   

Nature’s Tapestry 

Bernis von zur Muehlen’s photography engages the realm of the spiritual and the everyday, created by re-visioning reality again and again. This exhibit consists of four different series of images that form a “tapestry of nature.” Muehlen is a widely exhibited photographer who began showing her work in the mid-70s in commercial galleries and museums in the United States and abroad, beginning with her studies of the male nude. Subjects of this exhibit include bald cypress knees; trees undergoing the changes that come with the seasons; shadowy scenes invoking landscapes seen in dreams; and koi fish in playful moments. 

Rachel Rotenberg 

This exhibition will bring a remarkable body of largely unknown work to the D.C. area for the first time. Using cedar planks and other materials, Rachel Rotenberg has managed to build works on a heroic scale without sacrificing intimacy, and to craft small sculptures that attain a kind of conceptual monumentality. Rotenberg spent much of her life in Baltimore but has lived and worked in Israel since 2015. An artist for more than 40 years, she has managed to develop consistently as an inventor of new forms through scattered periods of intense instruction and the encouragement of small grants. Within a relatively conventional set of materials and methods, Rotenberg has created a deeply original body of work whose language is both eccentric and universal. Curated by Jane Livingston, with a catalog designed by Alex Castro. 

Franklin White: An American in Venezuela 

D.C. native Franklin White’s exhibition focuses on the experiential account of his life as an American living in Venezuela for the past two decades. Through White’s art, viewers can experience the beautiful and captivating traditions, as well as the food, music and abundance of botanical growth that thrives in Merida, Venezuela. White, a retired professor of more than 30 years, has been working and experimenting with different artistic media throughout his career. The present work employs handmade paper and large-scale oil pastels.   

Lost Europe: On the Edge of Memories 

The exhibit, which opened in June and will close Dec. 10, invites viewers to contemplate life in pre-war Ukraine. The exhibit showcases 75 black and white photographs, on display for the first time in a museum in the United States. The photographs span nearly three decades of predominantly rural Ukrainian life, from shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, to 2018.  

As the Czech photographers Karel Cudlín, Jan Dobrovský and Martin Wágner experienced societal, political and economic upheaval when their own country transitioned to democracy after the fall of the Soviet Union, they sought to document the similar experiences of everyday life of Ukrainians during this time.  

“All three artists are genuinely interested in Ukraine, and their documentary work has a deep human quality,” said curator Milena Kalinovska. “Their motivation was to capture something authentic, particular. These lyrical photographs, although straightforward and accurate, have ageless intensity and acknowledge deep historical context with lingering traces left.” 

Art Bank: Rejected!

For like the 100th year in a row, the City of Washington doesn't like my artwork for its permanent collection:

Dear Florencio Campello:

The District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH) appreciates your FY 2024 Art Bank Program grant application. Unfortunately, your artwork(s) was not selected to advance to the second round of review. 

Please know that CAH makes every effort to gain valuable feedback from the advisory panelists and shares that information with applicants upon request. Many applicants have found these comments and insights from panelists helpful in furthering their endeavors, as well as in developing future applications to CAH. You may request a debriefing within 60 days from the date of this letter by contacting Curator Michelle May-Curry at michelle.may-curry@dc.gov or (202) 215-9486.

CAH appreciates your valuable contribution to the arts and humanities community and encourages you to apply to future grant programs. You may wish to consider participating in our grant workshops to obtain information about specific grant programs and best practices for applying to CAH’s grants. Once grants are open, a list of workshops may be found on CAH’s website at www.dcarts.dc.gov.

Sincerely,

Lauren Dugas Glover

Public Art Manager

Applications for the 2024 Wherewithal Grant Cycle will open September 25!

WPA’s Wherewithal Grant initiative annually awards $5k grants to 12 DC-area artists. 

Artists may apply for Research or Project support. 

Artists who received a 2023 Wherewithal Research Grant will share where their inquiries have been taking them over the year-long grant period. This year's Research grantees are: Ama BE, Alina Collins Maldonado, Andy Johnson, Cecilia Kim, Stephanie Mercedes, Athena Naylor, and Anisa Olufemi & Jada Amina.

RSVP to get the Zoom link here.

Applications for the 2024 Wherewithal Grant Cycle will open September 25!

Public Art Across Maryland Grants

Applications are being accepted for the Public Art Across Maryland (PAAM) Program's New Artworks and Conservation Grants. Both grants share a single application deadline in FY24: Friday, January 26, 2024. Click here for grant guidelines. 

Interested applicants may attend “PAAM Grants: How to Apply Webinar,” a free, virtual session held Friday, September 8, from noon to 1 p.m. Click here to register.

Zenith Gallery voted Best DC Gallery!

Congratulations to Zenith Gallery in DC, which was recently voted as the “Best Gallery in DC” by the readers of the Washington City Paper – it is a well-deserved win for Zenith and its super-hard working owner and director Margery Goldberg!

Next at Zenith is work by the immensely talented Stephen Hansen, as his GREAT MOMENTS IN ART, VI runs from September 8 - October 9, 2023. The opening is Friday, September 8, 4-8 pm & Sunday, September 9, 2-6 pm at Zenith’s 1429 Iris Street NW, Washington DC, 20012 location.

This show marks Stephen Hansen’s sixth “Great Moments in Art” exhibition at Zenith Gallery, and in In this exhibition Stephen Hansen has “meticulously recreated selections from centuries of painting and added his signature paper mâché painters interacting with the paintings in ways both witty and surprising.”

Hansen says, “I started the Great Moments series in 2014, to take a break from sculpture. I then decided I wanted to paint more. After nine years, it still resonates with me. Through this series I have developed late-in-life art appreciation.”

Hansen is a one-of-a-kind fine artists – something really hard to be these days, as he has sculpted (no pun intended) an unique niche in the rarified world of the fine arts and has had one-man shows in galleries and museums in Detroit, Chicago, Santa Fe, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Scottsdale, Palm Beach, and New York.

His unique papier mâché sculptures are included in museum, corporate, private, and government collections including the New Mexico Capitol Art Collection in Santa Fe, The Federal Reserve and Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and United States Embassies in Naples, Italy and Caracas, Venezuela. I expect to see another great entertaining show!

The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards

Mark your calendars for the 21st exhibition of The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards.

Nearly 300 artists from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., were juried by Brandon Morse, Jon-Phillip Sheridan, and Naoco Wowsugi. Eight artists were selected to exhibit at Gallery B from Sept. 7 – October 1, 2023. The Best in Show winner will receive the $10,000 grand prize.

The opening reception will be held on Friday, Sept. 8 from 6-8pm, and Gallery B is located in the former spaces of the iconic Fraser Gallery at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. The finalists are: Rush Baker IV, Riverdale Park, MD; Rex Delafkaran, Washington, D.C.; Stephanie Garon, Baltimore, MD; Kei Ito, Baltimore MD; Megan Koeppel, Hyattsville, MD; Giulia Livi, Baltimore, MD; Charles Mason III, Baltimore, MD; and Fanxi Sun, Richmond, VA.

“Selected Works” by John Charles Koebert

Over at Foundry Gallery in the District, and with an opening reception on Saturday, September 9, 4-6 pm, we have “Selected Works” by John Charles Koebert. 

According to the gallery’s news release, “the work of John Charles Koebert represents a decades-long commitment to craftsmanship. Evolving each geometric work from a painstaking study, the larger piece represents a leap in scope and artistic precision. However, the inspiration for each piece is part of Koebert’s personal history. Every shape, color, and line call back to a story carried across years of artistic discovery.”

The works show impeccable technical skill, and in spite of their apparent abstraction, Koebert says, “The exhibit is personal statement about my life and my commitment to art. All of the pieces have a story to tell.”

The exhibition runs through October 1, 2023.

N.C. Wyeth painting found in Thrift shop

Browsing a New Hampshire thrift shop for old frames to restore, a local woman, who has chosen to remain anonymous to the press, bought a white frame with an old painting inside for $4. She had no idea that the painting was actually a rare work by renowned American artist N.C. Wyeth.

Read the article by Elizabeth Blair on NPR here.

The curious case of Hermes bag lady and fine art

 

Art Advisors

 

Woman Buys Genuine Picasso in Thrift Store for $6

Woman Buys Genuine Picasso in Thrift Store for $6, Sells It for Thousands shouts the headline in this Newsweek article by Alice Gibbs...

The thrifter watched as the auctions climbed, and her ceramic discovery started selling for $12,000, $13,000, and even $16,000.

Read the article here.

Jennifer Kahn Barlow at the Affordable Art Fair New York

The below new work by the gifted Jennifer Kahn Barlow will be available at the Affordable Art Fair New York, which opens on September 20th at the Met Pavillion on 18th Street in Chelsea; we're in booth C1.

The gallery will also showcase work by Steve Wanna,  Christina Helowicz, Amanda Coelho, Ally Morgan, Susan La Mont, Dora Patin and Lian Siever!

Macaron Nuit
Oil on canvas, 10x8, by Jennifer Kahn Barlow

Top 60 Masters Award

Then this...

From: Viviana Puello vivianapuello@arttourinternational.com

To: Lennox F.campello

Dear Lennox, Congratulations on being chosen by the board of ArtTour International Magazine to receive the Top 60 Masters Award! This honor is only bestowed upon 60 artists each year. Your selection for this prestigious award is truly remarkable. The art industry widely recognizes this award as a peak of achievement, and it has been nicknamed "The Oscars of the Visual Art" by the New York Weekly. To avoid losing this exceptional opportunity, please respond within the specified timeframe to confirm your invitation. Receiving ATIM'S TOP 60 MASTERS AWARD offers unparalleled exposure on different multimedia platforms. Our excellent program aims to promote your art, which includes publishing a book, featuring on TV, digital advertising on a Times Square Billboard, and more. To access all the detailed information, kindly click the link below. https://www.atimtop60masters.com/atim-s-top-60-masters-award This invitation expires five days from today. To receive your award, you must register directly online. Click the link above to learn more. Respond to confirm your acceptance of my invitation. Stay inspired, Viviana Puello CEO ArtTour International Magazine

Viviana Puello

45 Rockefeller Plaza, Suite 2000, New York, NY 10111

These five galleries are calling for exhibition proposals!

ELIGIBILITY

This call is open to all artists in the District/Maryland/Virginia Area who are 18 years of age or older. If an artist is already scheduled to participate in another solo exhibition during the 2023-2024 exhibition season at any Prince George’s County Parks and Recreation arts center or facility, they will not be eligible for consideration for this opportunity. Additional consideration will be given to artists who have not exhibited with any Prince George’s County Parks and Recreation arts center or facility in the past 2 years. 

GALLERY DESCRIPTIONS

We are seeking exhibition proposals for various M-NCPPC facilities including The Publick Playhouse, Watkins Nature Center, The Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex (SPLEX), the Southern Area Aquatic & Recreation Complex (SAARC), and Snow Hill Manor. 

GALLERY SPECIFICATIONS

Publick Playhouse- 60 linear feet of wall space. 

Watkins Nature Center- 95 linear feet of hallway wall space that provides an intimate and up-close viewing experience. Artworks that are in the size range of 11 x 14 inches to approximately 20 x 24 inches are best suited for this space.

SPLEX- 144 linear feet of wall space. Artworks that are in the size range of 18 x 24 inches and larger would be best suited for this space.

SAARC- availability of space includes 80 linear feet of wall space for larger works up to 4x6 feet

Snow Hill Manor- new space for 2024!

All the details here.

Artomatic 2004

 Almost 20 years ago!

Wanna see what that iconic show was about that year? Read it here.

Artomatic 2002

Using the Wayback Machine, I rescued this review that I wrote in 2002 for Culture Flux Magazine. Here it is below for your reading pleasure and for Artomatic historical records.

Art-O-Matic

Taking a spin through the vast expanse of local art.

By F. Lennox Campello

I’m on my fourth or fifth visit to Art-O-Matic, my feet are hurting from all the walking and to add insult to injury, I am now lost on the third floor until I find Sean Hennessey (the artist on floor-walking duty) to rescue me. He directs me to a few more rooms, including the one with his artwork. Hennessey has a small room full of surreal paintings that are actually painted wall sculptures, and he also has painted the room itself – creating an unique work of art that will be left behind when Art-O-Matic closes. Mix about 100,000 square feet of empty office space, a variety of very hardworking volunteers in partnership with the indefatigable Anne Corbett of the Cultural Development Corporation, and about 1,000 Washington area artists and the result is the best thing that happens to Washington art every few years: Art-O-Matic. This huge orgy of art, theatre, music, parties, performance, weirdness, solidarity and most importantly a knock-out of a visual punch to those who still think that the Washington area art scene is (pick your choice): conservative, dull, dead, not-like-New-York, blah, blah, blah. The reality is that the Washington area art scene is in high gear and alive and growing The plan for the exhibition: Find a large (read: enormous), empty commercial space (in this case the old EPA offices at the Waterside Mall, 401 M St, SW), get the landlord to give it up for a month or so, and open it to anyone who is or claims to be an artist, performer, or actor. Art for the people The process itself is democratic and doesn’t involve any jurying. At Art-O-Matic anyone and everyone can exhibit their work. As a result, the exhibition delivers a huge diversity of skills, subjects, media, presentations, goals, and ideas. Curiously enough, even the most amateur of artists, with the muddiest of watercolors and kitschiest of subjects is a refreshing change in an art world dominated by reproductions and mass-produced art. Now in its third iterationn (Art-O-Matic takes place irregularly every two years or so), this year’s Art-O-Matic is by far the best. The organizers seem to have been able to reach nearly every strata of Washington area demographics. It’s a show of who we are, with all of our multihued ethnicities, cultures, races, and the wonderful names that challenge the tongue and entertain the eyes as much as the artwork does. This is Art-O-Matic’s greatest asset: the vast and diverse pool of artists from which it can draw. What other city in America (OK, OK, other than perhaps New York), can offer a nearly endless source of area artists from all the cultures and corners of the world? This is Washington’s own Biennale without the nose-in-the-air attitude of Venice or Havana or Berlin or Rio. Speaking of Havana, it seems like every Washington photographer has been there in the last year. However, among the hundreds of photographers in the show, I must single out the Cuban photographs of Kay Springwater, especially a piece titled “Amigos, Viales,” which shows two old Cuban friends -- the pure blood of European Spain clearly evident in their pink Spanish faces and noble demeanor -- as tall and elegant as two nobles from an El Greco painting. Also the work of Matt Dunn, always managing to dig out with his silver gelatin mechanical brush that “odd something” in the most common of subjects. Allen Caredio Jackson, Jr.’s photographs of DC carnival dancers and revelers, covered in mud from head to toe, are lyrical and modern narrative photographs that offer us the marriage of mud rituals from ancient Africa to contemporary hot bodies from DC. Jackson also pushes the media via his unusual presentation, where he uses car parts, including a tire, as his frames. by Allen Caredio Jackson, Jr. Install this The old EPA building is full of small offices and cubbyholes and as such presents great opportunities for installation artists, most of whom lean towards darkened rooms and use light and music to deliver their ideas.  My favorite among many strong installations was the collaboration by Jordan Tierney and Marcia Hart titled “Aqueduct.”

 

Jordan Tierney and Marcia Hart “Aqueduct.”

Tierney and Hart offer us a pristine white room where clear, empty glass vessels, shaped like small virginal amphorae, are lined up in severe rows forming a block in front of a large glass bottle filled with water. This is a powerful installation, which made me somewhat uneasy by its severity and Teutonic geometry – like a row of acolytes in front of some cult leader, waiting to be filled with religion, or Nazi storm troopers, waiting to be filled with hate. This is perhaps the most effective piece in the entire show. There are several interactive pieces throughout the exhibit. Best amongst these are Ann Stoddard’s “Application Center, Waiting Room” and “Once Upon A Time,” by Mary Twombley and Phillip Kohn. “Once Upon A Time” is perhaps the most popular work in Art-O-Matic and it earns my vote as the most entertaining. It is an interactive video piece, where anyone can add three seconds of recorded video and sound to a storyline started by Twombley and Kohn. It is sometimes funny and sometimes erudite, but makes sense in a weird, surrealist form, where a few sentences can take a hundred different variations. Sex-o-matic Art-O-Matic is always good for sex, and this one is no exception. You’ll find still penises (pun intended), breasts, and vaginas of all sizes, shapes, and colors, and fetishes to cover most desires. Among these, the best works belong to painter Richard Takeuchi, whose superbly painted canvases salute bondage with an artistic ferocity that only a skilled painter can deliver. There are also some very good pen and ink drawings, colored with watercolor washes, by Walter Clark that show the skill and freshness of the similar suite of works delivered by a young Picasso. Clark shows sexy works of stripers, exotic dancers, hookers, and other sex merchants, purified by the all-cleansing power of art. Speaking of hookers, Chad Alan has a stage-full of them. They are elegant mixed medias which offer painting, stitching, fabric and paper to deliver an eroticism hidden behind a red curtain on a stage on the third floor of the building, like can-can girls in an erotic French show. There are many excellent painters sprinkled throughout the show. Cheryl Foster, stands out as usual (one of the best painters in Washington), as does Judy Jashinsky and Ardath Hill. I also enjoyed the series of tiny paintings by Allison B. Milner, some of which fit in the previous category, reeking of sex and sensuality, but nevertheless display remarkable painting skills, with joyful brushwork and little fear for the challenges of oil painting. I also liked Bradley J. Rudich, who works mixed media on wood panels that show nothing but monochromatic faces delivered with the minimal of brushstrokes on rough, unfinished wood slivers crowned with halos made from old CDs. Other skilled painters fixate on unusual objects which merit some note. Brenda Meek is a pretty good painter who “couldn’t get excited about the figure or still life” so she borrowed a goat skull and now offers us a room full of paintings of – you guessed it – goat skulls. And then there’s Virginia Schofield, who is also a very good painter, and who is apparently fixated nothing but shoes. On politics In the political arena, there’s a generous helping of forgettable Bush-bashing artwork, but the best is a superb room with walls filled with black paintings of burka-clad women, like an Islamic Stonehenge surrounding the viewer, while babies dangle from the ceiling, as human bombs being dropped by anonymous killers. It is the work of Katherine Janus Kahn and it poses a sobering question to the “people who teach young men only hate and destruction and makes them into human bombs.”  The artist adds that she is“concerned with a culture that isolates and restricts its women to the role of baby-making, in effect making them human missile-delivery systems.”  Her installation drives home her idea with disquieting effectiveness. When Mothers are Missiles and Children are Bombs by Katherine Janus Kahn. Glass Heart by Tim Tate  Finally, for the second year in a row, Tim Tate’s superb glass pieces steal the show in the three dimensional  category.   Tate has absolutely refined his art and vision -- first kindled by the death of his mother, which he expressed by an  obsessive return to making small, beautiful glass hearts -- to the point where he is easily the best glass artist in our region.  Art-O-Matic offers the best and the worst that artists can create, but it is easily the best art show of the year in Washington, a happening and event that clearly deflates the defeatist attitude of those who insist that there’s no such thing as a great Washington art scene.

Monmouth University DiMattio Gallery Call for Exhibition Proposals

Entry Deadline: 8/11/23

The DiMattio Gallery at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ is currently accepting proposals for the 2024 academic year.  Proposed Exhibition Date: January 16 – March 8, 2024. We invite artists to submit works in any medias including video, photography, painting, printmaking, sculpture, installation, graphic design, and new media.  Exhibition proposals may consist of solo, two person, and small group exhibitions.

Details here.

LatinXhibit: Call for Artists

Call for Entries: LatinXhibit

A Hispanic Heritage Month Exhibit

September 15- October 14, 2023

EXHIBITION: The Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County is accepting artwork submissions for the inaugural exhibition of LatinXhibit. The LatinXhibit highlights the rich and diverse influence LatinX artists have on the history of American Art.  This exhibit will showcase artists from across the United States as well as featuring prominent and emerging local artists. Based on submitted pieces of artwork, the Arts Council’s Exhibition Committee will curate and select the artwork that will be featured at the Arts Center galleries, 301 Hay Street in downtown Fayetteville, NC from September 15- October 14, 2023.   

ENTRY:  Entries are due by 11:59PM on Sunday, August 20th

Details here.

Georgetown Art Studio Launched!

 From Washington Printmakers Gallery:

The Washington Print Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of the Georgetown Art Studio at the Washington Printmakers Gallery (classes and workshops for children, teenagers, and adults). As part of this program, the Washington Print Foundation will also be offering several scholarships to aspiring artists. Set to commence on August 28, this initiative aims to foster creativity, nurture talent, and empower individuals in the world of visual arts.

The Georgetown Art Studio is a new opportunity for artists of all ages and backgrounds to explore their artistic passions and develop essential skills under the guidance of accomplished instructors. The curriculum will encompass a wide range of art forms. There is of course a focus on printmaking and photography, but the courses also include drawing, painting, and mixed media, allowing participants to unleash their creativity and engage in various artistic expressions.

The Washington Print Foundation firmly believes in the transformative power of art and aims to provide a nurturing and inclusive environment for students to thrive. The Georgetown Art Studio will offer both beginner and intermediate-level classes, ensuring that artists at various skill levels can benefit from the program. The studio's courses will be designed to inspire and challenge students, encouraging them to push their artistic boundaries and discover new ways of self-expression.

As part of our commitment to accessibility and fostering artistic growth, the Washington Print Foundation will be offering a number of scholarships covering tuition fees for the chosen applicants, enabling them to participate in the Georgetown Art Studio without financial constraints.

"Art has the power to transcend boundaries and connect people on a profound level. We are thrilled to introduce the Georgetown Art Studio, providing a platform for aspiring artists to cultivate their skills and channel their creativity," said Ron Meick, President for the Washington Print Foundation. "Through the scholarships, we hope to create opportunities for talented individuals who may face financial barriers, fostering a diverse and inclusive artistic community in the heart of Washington, D.C."

The Fall Program is available on both websites: the Foundation's and the Washington Printmakers Gallery:

https://www.washingtonprintfoundation.org/georgetown-art-academy-fall-program

and

https://washingtonprintmakers.com/member-news/georgetown-art-academy-fall-program